NEET UG 2026 Paper Leak: A trail that began inside a residential society in Pune has emerged as one of the key pieces of evidence in the CBI’s investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. Investigators used visitor-entry records, biometric data, phone locations, notebooks and forensic comparisons to piece together how questions allegedly moved from NTA-appointed experts to students before the May 3 medical entrance exam.
The CBI filed its first chargesheet against 13 accused persons on July 28, describing an alleged network involving three NTA subject experts, students, coaching operators and middlemen. The agency says the evidence shows that questions were accessed during the paper-setting process and later reconstructed and circulated to selected aspirants for money.
The investigation has also highlighted alleged gaps in the examination-setting process. According to the CBI, the accused experts used their access to confidential material to prepare students through special classes weeks before the examination, while investigators later compared recovered material with the actual question-paper sets.
CBI Chargesheet on NEET Paper Leak: CBI Uses Digital Trail to Trace Students
One of the unusual elements of the investigation is the use of records from a residential society’s access-control application in Pune.
The application records visitors entering and leaving the gated complex and also stores biometric information. Investigators allegedly used these records to establish that students and their parents visited the society in April for special coaching sessions conducted by accused NTA expert P V Kulkarni.
The CBI then compared those records with call-detail records and mobile-phone location information.
This allowed investigators to establish a timeline connecting the students’ movements with the alleged coaching sessions before the May 3 examination.
The agency’s use of digital evidence is part of a much larger body of material submitted with the chargesheet. NDTV reported that the CBI attached digital forensic reports, handwriting-expert opinions and academic-expert assessments to its filing.
NEET UG Paper Leak: How the CBI Traced the Alleged Network
The CBI’s case centres on three Pune-based experts who were associated with the NTA’s examination process.
They are:
- P V Kulkarni, associated with Chemistry
- Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, associated with Zoology and Botany
- Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, associated with Physics
According to the agency, the three allegedly exploited access to confidential examination material and reconstructed questions before the exam.
The investigation then led to Manisha Waghmare, who allegedly acted as a link between the experts and students.
The CBI says Waghmare arranged students for special coaching sessions and later helped circulate leaked material through a network of intermediaries.
The government had earlier said Kulkarni allegedly dictated questions, options and answers during special classes in Pune, and that questions written down by students later matched the actual NEET-UG 2026 paper.
CBI NEET Chargesheet: Special Coaching Classes Became Key Evidence
Investigators allegedly found that the special classes held in April were not ordinary coaching sessions.
According to the chargesheet, Waghmare placed students in classes conducted by Kulkarni and Mandhare. The students allegedly recorded questions dictated during those sessions in their notebooks.
The CBI recovered some of this material and compared it with the actual examination papers.
The agency says several questions matched the NEET-UG 2026 papers, strengthening its allegation that confidential material reached students before the examination.
The investigation had earlier identified Kulkarni as a key source of the Chemistry paper. The government said he had access to the examination questions through his role in the NTA process.
CBI NEET Chargesheet: Forensic Analysis Finds Major Question Matches
The CBI did not rely only on witness statements and digital records.
Investigators sent material recovered from students and alleged middlemen to an expert panel constituted by Delhi University.
The panel compared the recovered questions with the different NEET-UG 2026 paper sets.
According to the CBI, the material showed varying levels of matches across four sets identified as Kailash, Shivalik, Set 2 and Set 3.
The agency claimed that the paper sets to which the accused experts had access recorded the highest number of matching questions, with some matches reaching about 85%.
By contrast, the sets that the experts allegedly could not access showed fewer matches.
The CBI has presented this difference as evidence supporting its theory that the accused used their examination-related access to obtain and reconstruct questions.
CBI NEET Chargesheet: How NTA Experts Allegedly Reconstructed Questions?
The chargesheet describes different methods allegedly used by the experts to retain examination questions.
Kulkarni allegedly used rough sheets to record brief versions of questions and possible answers. Investigators allege that he also memorised simpler questions and reconstructed them later in his hotel room.
The CBI further alleges that Kulkarni handled back-translation work for three NEET-UG 2026 paper sets.
According to the agency, the leaked Chemistry material showed the strongest correlation with those sets.
Havaldar and Waghmare allegedly relied more heavily on memory and later wrote down questions in subject books after returning to their hotel rooms.
The CBI says this process allowed the accused to retain examination material without directly removing complete question papers from the secure environment.
CBI NEET Chargesheet: CBI Points to Alleged Gaps in NTA Procedure
The chargesheet also raises questions about the safeguards surrounding the paper-setting process.
According to the CBI, paper setting, translation and back translation took place inside the NTA’s Okhla facility under controlled conditions.
Investigators allege that the accused experts exploited procedural gaps while working on examination material and later reconstructed questions outside the secure premises.
The agency believes the experts’ access to multiple paper sets allowed them to identify and retain questions before the examination.
Earlier reporting by Hindustan Times said the CBI’s investigation had concluded that the accused were private individuals involved in the paper-setting process rather than NTA officials.
NEET UG 2026 Paper Leak: Coaching Centre Owner Allegedly Circulated Leaked Questions
The CBI has also named coaching-centre owner Shivraj Raghunath Mutgaonkar as an accused.
Investigators allege that Mutgaonkar obtained questions from Kulkarni through a middleman and subsequently circulated them among students in exchange for money.
The alleged chain therefore extended beyond the NTA-linked experts and involved people who could connect the leaked material with prospective NEET candidates.
The investigation also previously led to the arrest of a Latur-based doctor and a Pune physics teacher. The government said the doctor allegedly helped three students obtain Chemistry questions, while the physics teacher allegedly received leaked Physics questions from Manisha Havaldar.
NEET UG 2026 Paper Leak: 13 Accused Named in Chargesheet
The CBI has filed charges against 13 people in the case.
The charges include allegations involving criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, destruction of evidence and violations of laws dealing with unfair practices in public examinations.
The chargesheet reportedly includes a substantial volume of supporting evidence.
NDTV reported that the CBI relied on 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects, along with forensic and expert reports.
The scale of the evidence indicates the agency is attempting to establish the alleged leak through several independent lines of investigation rather than relying on a single source.
NEET UG 2026 Paper Leak: NEET UG 2026 Exam Was Cancelled After Leak
The alleged leak had major consequences for medical aspirants across India.
More than 22.7 lakh candidates appeared for the original NEET-UG examination on May 3. The National Testing Agency cancelled the examination after the leak surfaced and later conducted a re-examination on June 21. The results of the re-test were declared on July 16.
The disruption affected millions of students who had spent months preparing for the country’s largest medical entrance examination.
The controversy also triggered widespread protests and became a major political issue, eventually contributing to the resignation of the Union education minister, according to Reuters.
NEET UG 2026 Paper Leak: What Does the CBI Evidence Mean?
The evidence described in the chargesheet gives investigators several ways to connect the alleged participants.
The society access records establish when students allegedly entered the residential complex. Phone records can help establish their locations. Notebooks and recovered material provide physical evidence, while forensic comparisons can show whether the questions correspond to the actual examination.
Taken together, the CBI says these records support its reconstruction of events before the examination.
However, the allegations will ultimately have to be tested in court, where the accused will have the opportunity to challenge the evidence and the prosecution’s interpretation of it.
NEET UG 2026 Paper Leak: What Happens Next in the NEET UG Paper Leak Case?
The filing of the chargesheet moves the case into the next stage of judicial proceedings.
The court will examine the charges and the evidence presented by the CBI before the trial progresses.
The agency’s investigation could also continue if investigators identify additional evidence or people connected to the alleged network. Recent reports have indicated that forensic analysis and investigation into the wider conspiracy remain ongoing.
For students and families affected by the NEET-UG 2026 controversy, the case will now focus on accountability and whether the evidence presented by the CBI can establish the alleged chain from confidential examination material to candidates.
The most striking aspect of the chargesheet is the breadth of that evidence: from a residential society’s digital entry records and mobile-phone locations to handwritten notes and question-paper matches. Together, the CBI says, these trails reveal how an alleged leak could move from a tightly controlled examination process into the hands of students before the test.
